Hours passed. Mountains of bodies had formed over time, and Slady stood before a... heart?
He himself was reloading the ammunition in his weapon while observing the internal and external tissues of the organ tearing apart, releasing more and more demons covered in a reddish slime. The heart withered with the birth of each demonic creature, and the veins connected to the entire dimension pumped fluids into this cardiovascular structure, which regenerated in just a few seconds.
As soon as Slady spotted it, he aimed and fired at the creatures advancing toward him. The demons disintegrated onto the ground, their paws reaching for his feet. The claws tried to pierce him through his shoe, but he stepped back and stomped on their heads, reducing them to fragments on the snow.
With a sigh, he fired countless shots into the heart. The dimension trembled. The demons roared, their icy forms lunging toward him. With every grab and bite, he dodged and retaliated with strikes from his mechanical arm. Taking more distance, he leaped onto an ice rock and took two grenades from his pocket. He raised an eyebrow at the equipment, but soon threw them toward the heart and the demonic army.
The explosion spread smoke across his entire body. He coughed several times, waving his hand to clear it. When he emerged from the toxic air field, he saw the few remaining ice monsters melting, becoming part of the ground.
"Renkai creatures eliminated. Core destroyed. And Inferius empty... I wanted to be in bed at this hour."
He followed the opposite path slowly, accompanied by the sounds of yawns. Silence echoed in his ears and the wind made his hair fly. However, his steps quickened when he saw a white glow in the middle of a cave. Upon entering, he broke the hanging bluish tips and his hands touched the source of the glow.
"Renkata. Lucky me."
He stepped out for a moment, looked around the entire dimension, and then returned. Facing the white mineral, he raised his mechanical hand and...
Outside that cave, a loud crack was heard.
In the forest, a leg emerged to the side. He fell to the ground, with fragments scattering across the grass. His face buried in a puddle of water.
With the umbrella resting on his shoulder, Slady observed the sunrise with his nose wrinkled. When he arrived at the library, he removed his shoes with his feet and placed the umbrella beside the door. Renkatas were poured into a cardboard box under a table and his pistols were placed in a drawer. He placed his hands on the table and lifted his face, feeling the smell of wet earth entering his nostrils, a shiver running from his back to his head.
He opened the bedroom door. Shaphira was purring against her own fur. Soon the door was closed more slowly.
In the bathroom, he undressed, shaking his clothes, with small piles of snow forming on the floor. His body was stained with blood. When he turned on the water, he placed his hair over his shoulders, holding the strands and pulling them, with red liquids running down the wooden floor. The eyepatch was removed, covering the eye with his hand. The heat of the water hit his scars, making him groan through his teeth.
Suddenly, along with the sound of a door knock, a familiar voice was heard:
"Master, are you awake so early?"
"Sleep problems. Go back to sleep."
"Don't you need help falling asleep?"
"I'll sleep well if you sleep well."
"Okay!"
The footsteps echoed until they blended with the sounds of water hitting his head. Slady leaned his forehead against the wall, with his iron fingers sliding across the wood. He looked at the door for long seconds before looking at the wall again.
"I don't deserve you."
When he left the bathroom, he dressed quickly in the bedroom. He sat on the bed. The mechanical arm rested on a bench and his eye was fixed on the stump. His daydream vanished when he heard Shaphira's voice. She climbed onto his lap and hugged him.
"I don't like sleeping without you by my side, Master!"
She held his face, noticing the dark circles under his eye.
"You need to rest. If you don't, I'll..."
"You'll what, girl?"
"I... won't sleep with you anymore!"
"Ah, how cruel. And if I rest?"
"Then I can make an amazing lunch for you!"
"Alright... alright..."
He fell onto the bed, his body sinking into the mattress. Shaphira nestled against his chest, hiding her nose in his neck. Slady, watching her rest, caressed her hair with his only hand while, slowly, his eyes lost strength and closed.